Bucknell University

Located in Lewisburg in central rural Pennsylvania, Bucknell University was founded under the name of the University at Lewisburg in 1846 as a private Baptist university. Bucknell University later shed its Baptist roots and was renamed for its benefactor, William Bucknell, a Philadelphian who bolstered the university during the post-Civil War depression.

Bucknell University has academic departments in the liberal arts, engineering, management, and animal behavior disciplines among others. Primarily an undergraduate institution, Bucknell enrolls about 3,550 students (3,350 undergraduates and 200 graduate students) and employs over 280 faculty members as of 2002.

Bucknell University is a member of the Patriot League for competitive sports. In sports history, Bucknell University won the first Orange Bowl (26-0 over the University of Miami on January 1, 1935). Bucknell University is also the alma mater of the primordial baseball hero, Christy Mathewson, who requested that he be buried in a cemetery adjoining Bucknell's campus.

Bucknell has a reputation for its rigorous academic programs (especially in engineering) and for its conservative student body. Students participate in "Greek" organizations (fraternities and sororities) at a higher than average rate (60% of all eligible students as of 2002) compared to other U.S. Greek campuses. Students commonly praise their school for its scenic campus and for the smart, hard-working study body, while complaining about the vanilla cookie-cutter conservative culture and lack of options for entertainment other than alcohol.

Bucknell University's homepage can be found at http://www.bucknell.edu/